Bank of Ireland has announced the appointment of Gavin Kelly as CEO of its Corporate and Markets Division.

Aligned with the appointment, the bank is expanding its Corporate and Markets to include Business Banking, previously part of the Retail Ireland Division.

The change will bring Bank of Ireland’s business and corporate banking into one centralised structure, with a team of more than 1,100 dedicated to serving a wide range of SMEs and larger national and international corporations. The Division also includes wholesale financial markets services, specialised acquisition finance, and property lending activities.

Across the entire footprint of the Group – Ireland, the UK, France, Germany, Spain, and the US – Corporate and Markets has total customer lending of more than €27 billion.

Myles O’Grady, Group CEO of Bank of Ireland said Mr Kelly brings a wealth of skill and experience to the role, which will be invaluable to this important part of our business in the years ahead.

“Our aims for our Corporate and Markets business are to strongly support our customers, help grow the domestic economy, and enhance Ireland’s position as a business leader on the world stage. In doing this, we will also strengthen Bank of Ireland’s domestic and international position in business and corporate banking.”

Mr Kelly, CEO of Corporate and Markets said, “Many of our Business and Corporate customers are at the heart of the Irish economy. They count amongst them some of the most recognised and successful Irish business internationally. And they include international clients served from our footprint across the UK, EU, and US.

“We want to help all of our customers make progress, so they can start, grow and expand their business wherever they are based. As a leading Irish financial services company with a strong international footprint, we also want to harness the potential of our team to the fullest. This new structure allows us to do two key things – offer a one-stop shop for businesses at all stages of their development, and build our own business at home and abroad.”

Mr Kelly has most recently served as Chief Executive of the Retail Ireland Division of Bank of Ireland. He also served as Interim Group Chief Executive from September to November 2022. The bank said a recruitment process is underway for the position of Retail Ireland Chief Executive and an update will be provided when that process has completed.